We consider closed orientable surfaces S of genus greater than one and homeomorphisms f homotopic to the identity. A set of hypotheses is presented, called fully essential system of curves, and it is shown that under these hypotheses, the natural lift of f to the universal cover of S (the Poincaré disk), has complicated and rich dynamics. We also show that the homological rotation set of such a f is a compact convex set with maximal dimension and all points in its interior are realized by compact f-invariant sets, periodic orbits in the rational case. / Consideramos superfícies fechadas orientáveis S de gênero maior do que um e homeomorfismos f homotópicos a identidade. Apresentamos um conjunto de hipóteses, chamado sistema de curvas totalmente essencial, e mostramos que sob essas hipóteses, o levantamento natural de f para o recobrimento universal de S (o disco de Poincaré), tem uma dinâmica rica e complicada. Mostramos também que o conjunto de rotação homológico de f é um subconjunto compacto convexo de dimensão máxima e todos os pontos no seu interior são realizados por conjuntos compactos f-invariantes, órbitas periódicas no caso racional.

Um dos teoremas conhecidos de Poincaré afirma: Seja f um homeomorfismo do círculo que preserva orientação. Se p/q, com mdc(p, q) = 1, é o número de rotação de f, então f possui um ponto periódico de período q. Quando o conceito de número de rotação para um homeomorfismo do círculo é generalizado para um homeomorfismo f : T2 ? T2 homotópico à identidade, o resultado é um subconjunto convexo do plano R2, chamado conjunto de rotação e é denotado por ½(F) onde F é um levantamento de f. No caso que ½(F) tem interior não vazio, J. Franks obteve resultados análogos ao Teorema de Poincaré. Nesta dissertação estudamos um resultado análogo, obtido por Jonker e Zhang, quando ½(F) não tem interior. Mais precisamente: assumimos que ½(F) é um segmento de reta com inclinação irracional e mostramos que se 1 n(p1, p2) ? ½(F), com mdc(p1, p2, n) = 1, então f possui um ponto periódico de período n / One of the well know results of Poincaré state: Let f be an orientation preserving circle homeomorphism. If p/q, with mdc(p, q) = 1, is the rotation number of f, then there is a periodic point for f whose period is q. When the concept of rotations number, for orientation preserving circle homeomorphism, is generalized for torus homeomorphism f : T2 ? T2 that are homotopic to the identity, it results in a convex subset of R2, called rotation set and is denoted by ½(F) where F is a lifting of f. In the case that ½(F) has non-empty interior, J. Franks proved similar results to the Poincaré Theorem. In this work, when ½(F) has empty interior, we study an similar result obtained by Jonker and Zhang. More precisely: they suppose that the rotation set ½(F) is a line segment with irrational slope and demonstrate that if 1 n(p1, p2) ? ½(F), with mdc(p1, p2, n) = 1, then f has a periodic point of period n

The first half of the thesis presents our experimental study of a helical magnet MnGe. We apply μSR technique to study the dynamic as well as the static magnetism in MnGe. Our key findings are as follows. From the muon dynamic relaxation 1/T1 results, no apparent critical behavior or anomaly was observed at the boundary between param- agnetic and the induced-ferromagnetic regions. Our study revealed linear relation between the transverse field relaxation rate and the static magnetization. Furthermore, their ratio, which can be regarded a form of hyperfine coupling constant, is very similar in the induced ferromagnetic region and the paramagnetic region. This suggest that the Z component of the Mn moment is static in both regions. On the other hand, the single relaxation rate in the transverse spectra suggest that the internal field is highly homogeneous in the induced ferromagnetic region. We therefore speculate that the induced ferromagnetic region and the paramagnetic region are not separate phases, but rather a single phase with different tendencies as temperature decrease. With decreasing temperature, the paramagnetic region is marked with the winning of the tendency towards ferromagnetic ordering over random ordering, and the induced ferromagnetic region is marked with the winning of the tendency towards the helical order over ferromagnetic order.At lower temperature, we observed dynamic critical behavior in the boundary between the induced ferromagnetic region and the Skyrmion region. Specifically, in low fields, the 1/T1 relaxation rate behaves qualitatively different from the prediction of SCR theory for itinerant ferromagnet for large temperature regime above Tc. In high fields, on the other hand, the system recovers the SCR itinerant ferromagnetic behavior. Through analyzing field effect on spin fluctuation and phase transition in the low and high field regimes, we speculate that this could be due to the suppression of helical fluctuation into ferromagnetic-like fluc- tuation by large magnetic fields. Our μSR results, which show 2nd order signature for the transition between the induced ferromagnetic region into the Skyrmion region, is consistent with considerations based on the topology of the magnetic structure in each phase. At low temperatures within the Skyrmion region of MnGe, our analysis of the transverse field data shows that all the three components of the Mn moment is frozen. The quadratic tempera- ture dependence of 1/T1 at low temperatures suggest the two-magnon spin wave to be the dominant spin excitation in the Skyrmion region. This is similar to those seen in local- ized moment magnets and is qualitatively different from the linear temperature dependence predicted from SCR theory for itinerant ferromagnets. The second half of the thesis present our derivation of the structure function and the pair distribution function (PDF) for textured materials. We also derive the analytical form of the PDF for a few special cases of texture. In this study, we start from the general form of a 3D structure function and derive the general and orientationally averaged form of the structure function and PDF for textured samples. In particular for a thin film sample with fibre texture, our formalism gives the result known as the 2 dimensional PDF. We developed open-software that calculates the 2 dimensional PDF for a textured thin film, and showed that the experimental PDF was well fitted using the model. On the other hand, the PDF method could be extended to an energy-dependent form, which could reveal explicitly the effect of lattice dynamics on the local arrangement of the atoms. This is usually called the dynamic PDF method. In this thesis we derive the analytical form of the dynamic PDF for a simple molecule that contains two identical atoms. And we interpret the mathematical results with physical consideration of the lattice dynamics. In addition, we also propose a new definition for the dynamic PDF which can be shown to reduce to the atomic PDF by integrating over energy. This new definition of the dynamic PDF incorporates the contribution from multi-phonon scattering effects, and can be computed conveniently from inelastic neutron scattering.

In low-mass (≲1.2 M⊙) main-sequence stars, the combination of differential rotation and turbulent flows in the outer convective region generates strong magnetic fields. It has been observed that in these stars, the rotation rate and the strength of the magnetic field decrease over time. This is thought to result from a feedback loop in which magnetized winds carry angular momentum away from the star, braking its rotation and weakening the magnetic dynamo. A well-calibrated age-rotation-activity relation (ARAR) would be particularly valuable for low-mass stars. If we knew the dependence of rotation or magnetic activity on age, a measurement of one of these quantities could be used to determine an accurate age for any isolated field star. Empirical calibrations of the ARAR rely on observations of the co-eval populations of stars in open clusters. In this work, I characterize rotation and magnetic activity, using light curves for the former and X-ray and Hα emission for the latter, in two open clusters of different ages (Alpha Persei, ≈60 Myr, and Messier 37, ≈500 Myr) to analyze the relation between rotation and activity across the low-mass stellar range. I also compare coronal (X-rays) and chromospheric (Hα) activity to understand how magnetic heating varies across stellar atmospheric layers. My results inform models of angular momentum evolution in low-mass stars.

No cenário olerícola nacional, a produção de batata está em crescimento. Nas áreas produtoras de batata das regiões Sul e Sudeste é comum encontrar essa cultura em rotação com milho e trigo. O uso de alguns herbicidas do grupo químico das sulfoniluréias nas culturas anteriores tem causado sintomas de fitointoxicação nas lavouras de batata. As deformações dos tubérculos ocorrem no inicio da fase de tuberização, quando se nota numerosas rachaduras relacionadas à contaminação por sulfoniluréias. O objetivo deste trabalho de pesquisa foi avaliar a resposta de plantas de batata das cultivares Atlantic e Lady Rosetta, quanto à produtividade e qualidade dos tubérculos, submetidas a aplicação de subdoses dos herbicidas metsulfuron-methyl e nicosulfuron, utilizados nas culturas do trigo e milho respectivamente. O experimento foi instalado em condições de campo. Os herbicidas foram aplicados nas plantas de batata no início da fase de tuberização. A fitointoxicação causada pelos herbicidas foi avaliada na parte aérea, na produtividade e qualidade dos tubérculos. Ambas as sulfoniluréias, metsulfuron-methyl e nicosulfuron, causaram injúrias foliares nas cultivares de batata, sendo que na cultivar Atlantic esses sintomas não predizem os danos nos tubérculos, que foram inferiores aos esperados. As sulfoniluréias reduziram a produção de tubérculos de maior diâmetro em ambas as cultivares. A cultivar Atlantic teve redução na produção e produtividade causadas pela pulverização de nicosulfuron na dose recomendada para a cultura do milho, e não foi afetada pelas pulverizações de metsulfuron-methyl. A cultivar Lady Rosetta foi afetada por ambas as sulfoniluréias nas maiores doses e pelo nicosulfuron também em dose 10 vezes menor àquela recomendada para a cultura do milho. A produção de tubérculos inviáveis na cultivar Atlantic foi devido à incidência de rachaduras, podendo chegar a 16,11% com a pulverização de metsulfuron-methyl e até 91,33% com nicosulfuron. Na cultivar Lady Rosetta a produção de tubérculos inviáveis caracterizou-se por sintomas de distúrbios fisiológicos, chegando até 78,26% e 88,44% com pulverização de metsulfuron-methyl e nicosulfuron respectivamente. As cultivares Atlantic e Lady Rosetta não perderam produtividade nem qualidade dos tubérculos após aplicação de metsulfuron-methyl ou nicosulfuron nas subdoses testadas. / Potato production increases in the brazilian horticultural scene. Its common to find this crop in rotation with wheat and maize in the south and southeast production areas in Brazil. The use of some sulfonylureas herbicides in previous crops might cause phytotoxicity symptoms in potato. Tuber malformation take place in the beginning of tuberization, when can be noted tuber cracking related to sulfonylureas contamination. This trial aimed to assess the tuber quality and productivity of potato cultivars Atlantic and Lady Rosetta, subjected a application of low ates of metsulfuron-methyl and nicosulfuron, used previously in wheat and maize crops respectively. The trial was carried out in field conditions. The herbicides were sprayed in potato plants in the beginning of the tuberization phase in different rates. The sulfonylureas phytotoxicity was evaluated in the vegetative part and in the tuber quality and yield. Sulfonylureas, metsulfuron-methyl and nicosulfuron, caused foliar injuries in the potato cultivars, being that in Atlantic cultivar these symptoms do not predict tuber damages, that was below expectations. The sulfonylureas also reduced the production of tubers with larger caliber. The Atlantic cultivar decreased the production and the yield because of the nicosulfuron sprayed in maize recommended dose but was not affected by metsulfuronmethyl treatments. The Lady Rosetta cultivar was affected by both of sulfonylureas in the highest doses, such recommended for other crops, and also by nicosulfuron ten times diluted. The production of tuber unachievable for commercialization by the Atlantic cultivar was due to cracking, leading to 16.11% of cracked tubers after metsulfuronmethyl spray and 91.33% with nicosulfuron. In the Lady Rosetta cultivar it was characterized by malformation and second growth, achieving 78.26% and 88.44% of deformed tubers after metsulfuron-methyl and nicosulfuron sprays respectively. Both of the cultivars did not reduce tuber quality and yield after pulverization of metsulfuronmethyl or nicosulfuron in those low rates tested.

Um dos teoremas conhecidos de Poincaré afirma: Seja f um homeomorfismo do círculo que preserva orientação. Se p/q, com mdc(p, q) = 1, é o número de rotação de f, então f possui um ponto periódico de período q. Quando o conceito de número de rotação para um homeomorfismo do círculo é generalizado para um homeomorfismo f : T2 ? T2 homotópico à identidade, o resultado é um subconjunto convexo do plano R2, chamado conjunto de rotação e é denotado por ½(F) onde F é um levantamento de f. No caso que ½(F) tem interior não vazio, J. Franks obteve resultados análogos ao Teorema de Poincaré. Nesta dissertação estudamos um resultado análogo, obtido por Jonker e Zhang, quando ½(F) não tem interior. Mais precisamente: assumimos que ½(F) é um segmento de reta com inclinação irracional e mostramos que se 1 n(p1, p2) ? ½(F), com mdc(p1, p2, n) = 1, então f possui um ponto periódico de período n / One of the well know results of Poincaré state: Let f be an orientation preserving circle homeomorphism. If p/q, with mdc(p, q) = 1, is the rotation number of f, then there is a periodic point for f whose period is q. When the concept of rotations number, for orientation preserving circle homeomorphism, is generalized for torus homeomorphism f : T2 ? T2 that are homotopic to the identity, it results in a convex subset of R2, called rotation set and is denoted by ½(F) where F is a lifting of f. In the case that ½(F) has non-empty interior, J. Franks proved similar results to the Poincaré Theorem. In this work, when ½(F) has empty interior, we study an similar result obtained by Jonker and Zhang. More precisely: they suppose that the rotation set ½(F) is a line segment with irrational slope and demonstrate that if 1 n(p1, p2) ? ½(F), with mdc(p1, p2, n) = 1, then f has a periodic point of period n

The fields of virtual reality and gesture-based input devices are growing and becoming more popular. In order for the two technologies to be implemented together, an understanding of gestures in relation to virtual objects and users' expectations of those gestures needs to be understood. Specifically, this thesis focuses on arm gestures for the rotation of virtual objects. Participants in the study were first asked to freely perform an arm gesture they felt should execute a task. Next, participants were asked to perform specific rotation tasks with pre- configured arm gestures on four objects. There were two types of objects: those that could only be rotated on one axis and those that could be rotated on two axes. Each object type was represented by a familiar small and large object: combination lock, water wheel, baseball and beach ball. Data on how quickly they could complete the rotation tasks was collected. After performing the tasks on each of the four objects, participants were asked to rate the intuitiveness of each gesture as well as their preferred gesture for the specific task. The captured data showed that when users were presented with virtual representations of familiar physical objects, most of them expected to rotate the objects with the same gestures they would use on the actual physical objects. Considering 1-axis objects, an arm-based twist gesture outperformed other arm-based gestures in both intuitiveness and efficiency. Also with 2-axis objects, an arm-based horizontal/vertical gesture outperformed others in both intuitiveness and efficiency. Interestingly, those gestures were most efficient for each object type regardless of the size of the object being rotated. This would indicate that users are able to mentally separate the physical and virtual experiences. Larger objects require different rotation gestures than smaller objects in the physical world, but that requirement is non-existent in a virtual world. However, while the mind can separate between the physical and virtual worlds, there is still an expected connection. This is based on the fact that the gestures most preferred for the rotation tasks are the same gestures used for similar physical tasks.

The behavior of surfactants in solution has been and still is of scientific, technological, and industrial interest. The micelle forming compounds sodium N( octyloxycarbonyl)sarcosinate (NaOcSarc), and sodium N-(decyloxycarbonyl)sarcosinate (NaDecSarc) show in aqueous solution two lH NMR N-methyl peaks arising from a possible cis- or trans-conformation. The relative population of the N-methyl peaks depends mostly on the concentration of surfactant indicating micelle formation. Upon heating the two peaks start to coalesce and finally appear as one single peak . The temperature range in which this phenomenon occurs is from 25°C to 65°C. The primary interest of this study was to determine the activation parameters of rotation about the carbonyl-nitrogen (C-N) bond. Dynamic nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy was employed to approach this problem. A complete bandshape analysis was performed in order to calculate the free energy (G++), enthalpy (H++), and entropy (S++) of activation. The effect of a different counter ion (Li+) and sodium chloride salt addition were tested for possible changes of the activation parameters. Studies in nonaqeous solvents were conducted with the free acid form of the mentioned carbarnates. Dimethylsulfoxide and chloroform were chosen as organic solvents for these particular experiments. The critical micellar concentrations of all surfactants were determined, and the assignment of the individual N-methyl peaks to the correspondend conformation could be unambiguously shown by a two dimensional NMR experiment. The cmc's show strong salt dependence. The effect of a lithium as an alternative counter ion has a less drastic effect. Micellization seems not to occur in the free acid cases. Interestingly, the surfactants show stronger salt dependence than micellization dependence upon the activation parameters, indicating that solvent exposure occurs at the C-N partial double bond and considerable deformation of the ideal spherical shape.

Typewritten Includes bibliographical references

This thesis develops two related themes.The first is that participatory approaches to agricultural research and extension can provide a sound process for all stakeholders to learn how to develop more sustainable agriculture. The second is that appropriate levels of participation can be used to link knowledge from three important sources: local knowledge, scientific knowledge and experiential knowledge.The thesis develops these two related themes by examining the inconsistencies between esposed theories of participatory approaches (i.e.intended behaviour) and theories in action (i.e. what is actually practised).The study was based upon the work of a major research, development and extension (R, D and E)project known as the Western Farming Systems Project (WSFP),which was concerned with the development of sustainable rotations and cropping practices in south western Queensland and north western N.S.W. between 1994-1999. The study was conducted in the Balonne Shire, centred on the town of St. George, Queensland, Australia. / Master of Science (Hons)